“When the band’s highly anticipated Deathhammer came out in 2012 it became and remains one of my favorite metal records of the 2010’s. Now Incoming Death is upon us, and these death-doom peddling Dutchmen are back to slay ultra-loud once more.” Back to the rack!
“The immense advertising campaign inadvertently carried out by certain English street signs notwithstanding, Dead End is a strange and largely uninspiring name for a death-doom band. A name like Paradise Lost brings to mind Milton’s epic poem about the Fall of Man, Katatonia suggests an inescapable numbness, and My Dying Bride evokes a mental horror show. Dead End, on the other hand, brings to mind seeing a sign that means I have to make a three-point turn before I reach the end of the road I’m driving on. I don’t exactly enjoy three-point turns, but they certainly don’t fill me with dread.” Fear the cvl-de-sac.
“Tempest was one of those remarkable underground metal debuts which developed sufficient hype to breach the upper echelon of popular online publications despite its apparent lack of commercial appeal. The oppressive funeral doom, courtesy of the plucking, hitting and growling gents over at Lycus, was positively received by Pitchfork, Decibel and theneedledrop, ultimately garnering a Relapse record deal. Some of us didn’t quite get Lycus before. So did we get on the hype train yet or what?
“It’s no surprise death is such a common theme in metal. Whether through global religious institutions or personal musings on mortality, it’s something we struggle with both individually and as a society, a looming black unknown that begs questions about what happens when we pass on. Encoffination, however, do not ponder questions of life and death. Instead, the duo work within the mausoleum of extreme doom metal to embrace death head-on….” Death is as death does.
“Five doom/death songs comprising sixty minutes of music is a risky proposition that lives and dies by one thing: riffs. If you’re going to write songs that average out to twelve minutes in length, the riffs contained within had better be interesting, dynamic, and, of course, crushing.” That means some long, potentially ADHD offending tunes. Can Ophis hold the interest of the busy metaller?
“The driving force behind any band is their desire to create, to share the inner workings of their collective minds and to leave behind a part of themselves when they cease to exist. Some artists within only a few years manage to fill pages and pages on Encyclopaedia Metallum with thick, extensive and mightily impressive discographies. Décembre Noir wandered a different path and although being around for a fair few years, they’re only now releasing A Discouraged Believer, launching the bands death-doom approach and setting you on a journey that feels oddly spiritual in its lament.” Not the most prolific act out there, but better late than never, eh?
